Need Urgent Help on Oil Change: Touque and Tightness

Tighten the oil filter hand tight. It helps if you have strong hands. On the plug tighten it firmly. About an eighth of a turn after snugging it down hand tight.

Tighten it until it strips and back off a quarter turn. That's a joke. If you plan to do a lot of your own mechanic work in the future, you may want to purchase a torque wrench. It sure makes things a lot easier. Good luck.

People sleep peacefully in their beds at night because rough men stand ready to do violence on their behalf......George Orwell.

Tighten the oil filter as tight as you can with your bare non-oily hand. Put a light coat of oil on the gasket first. Also, make sure the old gasket is still on the old oil filter and not stuck to the adapter. Tighten the drain plug snugly. Most people over tighten them. Check everything for leaks (running) after. You'll get more of the old out oil faster if the engine is warm.

Greetings - Here are some basic instructions for installation of an oil filter. FIRST - simply tighten the filter by hand until it bottoms out. That does not mean that you're trying to make it tight. It just means that you spin it on by hand until it stops turning easily or freely. You'll know when you have reached that point, because beyond that point, you'll need to apply some extra force to turn it. Now - once you are satisfied that the filter has bottomed out, then you can tighten it. To tighten it, you turn it about three-quarters of a turn beyond bottoming out. You really don't need anything other than a filter wrench to go that last three-quarters of a turn.

Here's a tip that may help you to gauge 3/4 of a turn. Make a mark on the end of the filter (magic marker is the easiest way). That way, you have a reference point for judging when you have gone about 3/4 turn....kind of like watching a clock hand turn.

Also - follow the directions on the filter box...they will ask you to put a bit of fresh oil on the gasket. Make sure you spread it around the whole gasket.

Another potential problem - when you remove the OLD filter, make sure that the old gasket also comes off with the filter. If you were to install a new filter on top of a remaining old gasket, you would likely have a leak. Good luck.

--Paul

Magic marker also comes in handy - I write the date and mileage on the filter as well. Get an oil resistant one - some of the cheap ones will just smudge in your hand as you turn the filter.

Could anyone tell me what the gashket on the oil filter you guys are talking about? I have not seen any loss gashket on it. I have only see a black ri=ober ring?

I already did the change. I don't have a strong hand and I was only able to turn 3/8 turn after using my hand.

Nobody warned me that when I took off the oil filter, the oil is coming out in a way bigger than the plug. I handled the plug pretty well, and I thought there would not be much in the filter after I drain the pan. But I got oil all over the floor after the filter out.

Two questions:

1 My civic says: I need 3.5 quarter oil, but I think I still have some dirty oil left in the engine, it takes forever for the final drops... They kept droping for very long time. Should I only put 3.4 or 3.3 oil in the engine to let some space for the old oil?

2 Bigger issue with my Jack. I use a jack came with the car. You know the little hand jack. I bought 2 jackstands from warmart for 8 dollars total. I put 1 jackstand at the jacking point, and increase the car at a near point which is not the jack point of the car withe the little jack. I found the little jack damaged the floor coating (anti rust coating or anti fire coating) I think the main reason is that only the reinforced jackpoint can handle the huge presure... Anyone can tell me how to use the little jack and jackstand without damage the bottom coating? Or the coating does not really matter much?

Thank you.

That's the gasket. Occasionally it'll stick and get left behind and leak like a son-of-a-gun when you start it up.

That's about enough. If you use a filter wrench and reef it on, you'll never get it off.

You didn't ask. I've had a gust of wind blow the stream away from the drain pan and all over the floor. Some kind of natural phenomenon. :) That's normal. Very hard to avoid making a mess with some engines.

I would put in 3 quarts, and then a bit at a time until it's at full on the dipstick. The last teaspoon does take forever to drain. If you change your oil regularly, don't worry about it. I usually let it drain for about 10-15 minutes - I check the tires and all the other fluids to keep myself occupied.

Ray

You've received some typically excellent advice.

I would like to add that before screwing on the new filter you should make sure the rubber gasket is seated properly all around the filter groove. Also, after screwing on the filter and refilling the oil, re-check the oil level, as the filter will have taken in some of it.

Henry

Sorry if I sound sarcastic - I don't mean to be. If you know nothing about servicing your car I would start of with reading up on it, either in a basic book or on the internet. If you do the wrong thing with the service you can damage your car or, as in the case of using a car jack incorrectly, hurt yourself. Please do some basic, then more specific, reading on tune ups.

Henry

Tighten the filter by hand. There should be instructions on the filter body on how to do this. They usually recommend turning the filter 3/4 turns after the gasket contacts the base. The drain plug needs to be tight enough to not leak. :) I know that answer doesn't sound like what you want to hear, but unless you have done it before or have a torque wrench, it is hard to describe tightness.

------------------ Alex

That's the gasket.

If it doesn't leak, that's fine.

Now you know better for next time.

Was you motor hot when you did the oil change? Hot oil will flow better than cold oil. BE CAREFUL! Hot oil will burn you.

You would probably have been better off getting ramps if all you plan on doing is changing the oil. What you shold do is check your owners manual and see if they have pictures of more than one area under the car that can support the weight of the car.

-------------- Alex

"Public Interest" wrote in news:a4qkb.6765$ snipped-for-privacy@bgtnsc05-news.ops.worldnet.att.net:

Strip the threads is what I call it, but whatever. It is hard to judge the correct torque if you have never done any work like this before. I use a ratchet wrench with 3/8 inch drive, and pull on it maybe about half as hard as I can. Probably about 50 pounds of pressure applied to the end of the wrench from my hand, giving a torque probably around 40 foot-pounds since my ratchet wrench is a little under a foot long. At the professional oil change places, they put it a lot tighter, but tightening it myself like this, I have only once ever had a problem of it vibrating loose, and that time I probably forgot to tighten it with the wrench or something. When you loosen it, it will probably take all your effort to get it loose, since you had a professional do it last time. When you put it back, make it about 1/2 to 3/4 as tight as it was.

For the filter, just do like someone else wrote, tighten until the gasket contacts the metal, then about 3/4 turn more.

-Daniel